It was a very beautiful, progressive and heartfelt Raksha-bandhan at Ganga Prem Hospice on August 12, 2022, the full moon day of the waxing moon period.
Gender roles were effortlessly reversed. Older people tied Rakhi to younger people. Men to women. The singular bond that shone through was that of trust and protection that is between patients and their caregivers.
Those who celebrated the festival with each other were not necessarily related to each other by blood. They were patients, their caregivers, and the Ganga Prem Hospice staffers, who had been working hard many days in advance to give everybody a happy surprise for the festival.
With the help of two of our kind donors who sent sweets, chocolates, and rakhis, a beautiful gift hamper was made to ring in Rakhi, and a decorated wheeled trolley complete with sweets, oil lamp, and rakhis moved from room to room on the patient’s floor on the morning of 12th August.
The hospice team tied rakhi on the wrists of patients and their family members, and they in turn returned the honour to the staffers. As the customary return gifts, patients gave chocolates and toffees to the GPH staffers.
A patient’s sister reminisced how their house would be full of special dishes prepared by the patient herself, when she was well.
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